He considered himself an ordinary, uneducated Mori man but Joseph Harawira, QSM, was a tireless worker who became spokesperson for an organisation called SWAP (Sawmill Workers Against Poisons). SWAP relentlessly presented their evidence to authorities, for work place poisoning causing ill health, for thirty years until those authorities finally listened. Post-colonial New Zealand had seen huge developments in industry and farming alongside extensive use of toxic chemicals in forestry, polluting the land, waterways and poisoning people. Joe mainly worked at the Whakatne sawmill between 1963 and…mehr
He considered himself an ordinary, uneducated Mori man but Joseph Harawira, QSM, was a tireless worker who became spokesperson for an organisation called SWAP (Sawmill Workers Against Poisons). SWAP relentlessly presented their evidence to authorities, for work place poisoning causing ill health, for thirty years until those authorities finally listened. Post-colonial New Zealand had seen huge developments in industry and farming alongside extensive use of toxic chemicals in forestry, polluting the land, waterways and poisoning people. Joe mainly worked at the Whakatne sawmill between 1963 and 1992. The two main chemicals of concern were PCP (pentachlorophenol) and dioxin. Still working and in declining health, Joe had been looking for the 'right' person to record his journey. A series of unexpected events led to his choice of author, a retired Pkeh woman, a stranger with a Master's degree, with whose partner he had recently reconnected through work. Joe grieved the loss of mentorship by Mori elders which left some Mori men feeling disconnected, sometimes resulting in violence, suicide or gang affiliation. He blamed some of this on poisons and understood there were also other factors. He wanted today's young men to see that they too could believe in something, educate themselves and gain respect through their efforts. Joe felt keenly that even though there was some recognition of chemical poisoning in male sawmill workers, women cleaners and wives who dealt with contaminated clothing and gardens were, and still are, ignored by authorities. Ironically, sawmill work was not his first choice but events conspired to place him in a position where he could be spokesperson for the important issue: chemical poisoning of the land and of the people.
The author retrained as a secondary school Teacher in her early forties after gaining a Master's degree in Anthropology. While studying, she also worked to support people who live with disability and mental health diagnoses. Teaching helped hone her writing skills, rekindling her love of poetry. Health issues, her partner John's new job opportunity and a feeling of wanting to start again, saw the couple move from West Auckland to Kawerau, near John's family area of Whakatane. She spent almost a year with Joe in 2016, recording notes and reading information Joe gave her. Suddenly in early 2017, Joe died and she was in despair. A gap followed as she collected herself after this promising collaboration and friendship suddenly ended. There were many frustrating rewrites but she had to find her own direction, without Joe. During this time, she started up a wholesale plant nursery at home. This became an all-consuming passion that rescued her and slowly allowed finishing the book to be a reachable goal. She is collating a series of children's stories she has written, mainly about farm life, where some of the animals explain their points of view. She enjoys solving crossword puzzles and code crackers, as well as spending time in the garden with her cat.
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